Early-onset Amyloid Deposition and Cognitive Deficits in Transgenic Mice Expressing a Double Mutant Form of Amyloid Precursor Protein 695

n/

A new approach for psychological consultation: the psychologist at the chemist's

Abstract Background The prevalence of mental illness and psychological suffering is greater than the availability of primary care services in Europe and, in particular, in Italy. The main barriers that hinder the access to these services are economic, the lack of proximity of services and some prejudices that may promote stigma and shame. A new mental health service, named “Psychologist in the Neighbourhood” was created to intercept unexpressed needs for psychological assistance. The service allows everyone to ask for free psychological consultation, consisting of no more than four meetings with a psychologist, in certain chemists’ shops around the city of Milan. This article aims to present the service specific features of this initiative and the results of a pilot study. Methods Information gathered on all users included socio-demographic data, the reasons why they approached this specific service, how they learnt about it, the main presented problem and, for a random sub-group, the level of psychological well-being (as measured by the PGWBI). Socio-demographic data were compared with previously collected information about general users of psychological services. The outcome of the intervention was assessed by the clinicians. Results During the two-year project a total of 1,775 people accessed the service. Compared to traditional users of psychological services, the participants in this service were characterized by a higher presence of females, unemployed and retired people. The main factors encouraging access were proximity and the fact that the service was free of charge. Many of the users were redirected to more specific services, while for about a third of the sample the consultation cycle was sufficient to resolve the presented problem. Conclusions The interest and participation of the population was high and this initiative intercepted an unexpressed requirement for psychological support. Free access and home proximity, were the main reasons for accessing this specific service. Subjects were mostly re-directed to appropriate services, while about a third of the sample addressed and resolved their problem with the psychologist in the chemist’s shop. These encouraging results suggest the benefits of bringing psychological consultations closer to citizens, particularly to those who cannot afford it, reducing socio-economic inequalities.</p

Meeting unexpressed psychological requests in a new context: the psychologist in chemistry

Aim Considering the prevalence of psychological diseases and the number of people who receive some kind of psychological or psychotherapeutic care, we found that there is a need of psychological support which is not expressed by the population or not totally fulfilled. As psychological services are not always reimbursed by the National Health Service (they are provided freely only to ad hoc cases) economic barriers would probably be a reasons that can preclude the access to this kind of services. Moreover, population should have the opportunity to access to a service provided in easily accessible locations diffused all around the city and where it is easy to communicate about health issues. The \u201cPsychologist in the neighborhood\u201d project is developed by Catholic University of Sacred Heart, in cooperation with Health Department of Milan and two Chemists' Associations and is an attempt to intercept a part of these requests, began in February 2009. The project allows anyone to book a free psychological counseling cycle in 23 chemists in Milan, directed to the understanding and the management of psychological diseases and to the enhancement of well-being. The service provides, after a first evaluation interview, the opportunity to benefit of a small cycle of free psychological counseling (5 or 6 meetings). Depending to the nature of the needs these cycles can be sufficient to solve the issues or may be used to re-address the need to the most appropriate location (local services such as hospitals or centers for the treatment of addictions). This service is available half-a-day per week in each chemist. Potential users can ask to the chemist to meet a psychologist for an interview in a dedicated location inside the pharmacy. Our aim was to evaluate the requests made by patients who underwent this new service, to compare psychological and demographical characteristics with those from general population and to analyze the preliminary results of interventions made in chemistry. Method Socio-demographic data, reasons for the access, implicit and explicit requests, together with outcomes of intervention are collected during and after visits. The patients\u2019 mood state was assessed before and after intervention using the Psychological Global Well Being Index (PGWBI) (Dupuy, 1984), a brief self-administered questionnaire which contains 20 items rated on a six-point scale, where a higher score indicates a better quality of life and measures six mood states (Anxiety, Depressed Mood, Positive Well-Being, Self-Control, General Health, Vitality). Results and Discussion Results are ongoing and will be presented at the congress

Nuove frontiere per la psicologia clinica: lo psicologo in farmacia

Mental disorders are some of the most common diseases worldwide. Despite the availability of different psychological services, there is a large percentage of people who is in need of psychological consultation and who do not access to these services. The «Psychologist in the Neighborhood» service was designed to intercept the unexpressed needs for psychological consultations. During a period of about 2 years, the project allowed anyone to book a free psychological counseling in 28 chemists in Milan, directed to the enhancement of well-being, the prevention and the understanding of psychological diseases. Together with the demographic data of the participants, a randomized sub-sample was assessed with the Psychological General Well-Being Inventory. Access reasons and consultation outcomes were also evaluated. The interest in the service from the population was high, with over 6,000 interviews carried out during the project. Pre-treatment quality of life scores were lower than the national normative data. After the psychological intervention, there was a significant improvement for each considered variables, without statistical differences with the normative data. Results collected during this pilot project suggest a good potential to reach unexpressed psychological needs and to promote the well-being

A new approach for psychological consultation: the psychologist at the chemist's

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of mental illness and psychological suffering is greater than the availability of primary care services in Europe and, in particular, in Italy. The main barriers that hinder the access to these services are economic, the lack of proximity of services and some prejudices that may promote stigma and shame. A new mental health service, named "Psychologist in the Neighbourhood" was created to intercept unexpressed needs for psychological assistance. The service allows everyone to ask for free psychological consultation, consisting of no more than four meetings with a psychologist, in certain chemists' shops around the city of Milan. This article aims to present the service specific features of this initiative and the results of a pilot study. METHODS: Information gathered on all users included socio-demographic data, the reasons why they approached this specific service, how they learnt about it, the main presented problem and, for a random sub-group, the level of psychological well-being (as measured by the PGWBI). Socio-demographic data were compared with previously collected information about general users of psychological services. The outcome of the intervention was assessed by the clinicians. RESULTS: During the two-year project a total of 1,775 people accessed the service. Compared to traditional users of psychological services, the participants in this service were characterized by a higher presence of females, unemployed and retired people. The main factors encouraging access were proximity and the fact that the service was free of charge. Many of the users were redirected to more specific services, while for about a third of the sample the consultation cycle was sufficient to resolve the presented problem. CONCLUSIONS: The interest and participation of the population was high and this initiative intercepted an unexpressed requirement for psychological support. Free access and home proximity, were the main reasons for accessing this specific service. Subjects were mostly re-directed to appropriate services, while about a third of the sample addressed and resolved their problem with the psychologist in the chemist's shop. These encouraging results suggest the benefits of bringing psychological consultations closer to citizens, particularly to those who cannot afford it, reducing socio-economic inequalities